William Marshall first established an engineering works at Gainsborough in 1848. The company began by making thrashing machines, but later expanded its product range to include portable steam engines and traction engines. The company grew rapidly in the remaining decades of the 19^th century and diversified into new products such as tea making machinery.

During the First World War the company produced a vast array of military equipment, including 8000 military vehicles and over 1500 naval gun mountings. The firm also produced shells, shell fuses, artillery wheels and ammunition boxes.

Marshall & Co. struggled for survival in the 1920s and 1930s and in 1935 the company had to be rescued by T W Ward & Co. of Sheffield. By this time the company was moving away from steam-powered machinery and into new products such as tractors and diesel engines.

During the Second World War the company was once again required to produce equipment for the military, including destroyer gun mountings and midget submarines. The company emerged from the war in good financial shape and during the 1950s and 1960s it worked closely with John Fowler & Co. of Leeds to produce a range of tractors and road rollers. By the late 1960s the company was in financial difficulties and was subsequently acquired by British Leyland. In the years that followed the company went through a series of changes of ownership, but the group continued to struggle from crisis to crisis and the Gainsborough factory finally closed for good in the mid 1990s.